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Lioness
_Desigend by YahooJAPAN ( http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:182359 )
_Lion (Panthera leo), large, powerfully built cat (family Felidae) that is second in size only to the tiger. The proverbial “king of beasts,” the lion has been one of the best-known wild animals since earliest times. Lions are most active at night and live in a variety of habitats but prefer grassland, savanna, dense scrub, and open woodland. Historically, they ranged across much of Europe, Asia, and Africa, but now they are found mainly in parts of Africa south of the Sahara. About 200 Asiatic lions constitute a slightly smaller race that lives under strict protection in India’s Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary.However, with Lion numbers thought to have dropped by 30% over the past 20 years these enormous predators are sadly becoming more and more vulnerable in their decreasing natural environment.
_Lions are unique among cats as they live together in strong social groups. A pride is made up of 5-15 related females and their cubs along with a generally single male (small groups of 2 or 3 though are not uncommon). Male Lions patrol a territory of around 100m² marking trees and rocks with urine and roaring to warn off intruders. Although male Lions can defend their pride to great effect, their position in the pride is constantly under threat from other males who try to take over their patch and if successful, they will kill any cubs that were sired by the previous male. Despite their enormous size, male Lions actually do hardly any of the hunting as they are often slower and more easily seen than their female counterparts. The Lionesses in the pride hunt together meaning that they are not only more successful on their trips, but they are also able to catch and kill animals that are both faster than them and much bigger.
_Both male and female Lions are able to reproduce between the ages of two and three but despite this, they will often not breed until the pride has been firmly established. After a gestation period that lasts for nearly four months female Lions give birth to between one and six cubs that are born blind and are incredibly vulnerable in their new surroundings.Lion cubs suckle on milk until they are about six months old and although they won't begin actively hunting until they are about a year old, Lion cubs start to eat meat after 12 weeks or so.
_Young Lion cubs spend a great deal of time playing together which actually helps them to develop their hunting techniques. This method of role-playing in cubs also helps females to determine whether or not they would be suited better to chasing and cornering prey, or catching and killing it. Although Lions are able to make a number of different sounds it is their roar that is most distinctive and not only serves to warn off strange males, but also allows members of the pride to find one another as it's sound can travel up to six miles!